PRIME Minister Liz Truss mixed up the "basic facts" of her government's energy price cap SEVEN times during a car crash round of local media interviews.
The Tory MP gave eight short interviews to a number of local radio stations in England on Thursday morning – and repeatedly claimed that consumers' bills would be "no more than £2500".
However, on Wednesday evening, Money Saving Expert's Martin Lewis put out a social media plea to "stop confusion" that there was no cap.
Instead, from October 1, there will be limits on daily charges and unit rates, but the £2500 figure is only an estimation of the average household's energy use.
Lewis pointed out that if this isn't made clear, some households could use their heating all winter and then be hit with an unexpected bill they can't afford to pay.
And, a fact-checking charity criticised her comments and pointed out they had written to the Prime Minister about getting her facts wrong the day before.
Despite this, the PM repeated the same line during numerous interviews.
In her first appearance at just after 8am on BBC Radio Leeds, the PM was quick to attempt to remind listeners of the "situation we were facing this winter" before she took over the keys to Number 10.
She said: "We were facing a situation where people could have had to pay energy bills of up to £6000, where inflation was increasing, and where we were looking at an economic slowdown which would have had a huge impact right across the country, including in places like Leeds, so we had to take decisive action.
"That's why we took action to make sure people aren't paying a typical fuel bill of more than £2500 pounds. Yeah, that's gonna come in this Saturday."
However, as the journalist pointed out, the energy support package was announced before the mini-budget which caused the pound to collapse and fears of a financial crisis on the horizon to grow.
Pls share to stop confusion. THERE IS NO £2,500 CAP ON ENERGY BILLS. Instead the new 1 Oct guarantee, like the old caps, limits - Daily charge (28p gas, 46p elec) - & Unit rates (10p/kWh gas, 34p/kWh elec) So use more, pay more. £2,500 is just what someone with avg use'd pay
— Martin Lewis (@MartinSLewis) September 28, 2022
Truss's second interview on Radio Norfolk was focused on fracking and local issues, but by the third with BBC Radio Kent she was reiterating the same line again.
"I think we have to remember what situation this country was facing. We were going into the winter with people expected to face fuel bills of up to £6000, huge rates of inflation," she said.
When the reporter interrupted, "and you've made it worse", Truss ignored the comment and continued: "...slowing economic growth. And what we've done is we've taken action to make sure that from this weekend, people won't be paying a typical fuel bill of more than £2500, not just this year, but also next year."
“People are worried about their mortgages and they're tearing their hair out over their pensions. I've got so many messages Liz," the reporter added.
Truss replied by claiming that the energy price bill cap would curb inflation by up to 5%.
In her fourth interview with BBC Radio Lancashire, Truss was quizzed on her sweeping tax cuts that disproportionately benefit the rich.
Asked if the believes red wall voters who backed her party in 2019 would find that "fair", she replied: "Well, what is fair is that people were facing huge energy bills this winter of up to £6000 and because the government has stepped in, we are making sure that nobody faces energy bills more than a typical £2500 pounds from this weekend."
By the time Truss was being interviewed by Radio Nottingham she had begun to push that there was global instability and nodded toward Vladimir Putin as an influence.
Yet again she stuck to the script, arguing that households would be facing £6000 bills without government intervention.
"This is why we've taken action to make sure that people's bills are no more than £2500," Truss said.
The PM was then told that by all accounts, from the former chair of the bank of England and other experts, she had "made the situation worse".
She replied: "Well, what I was just saying is the energy package that we've announced is likely to reduce inflation by up to 5%. As well as increasing economic growth, we're facing an economic slowdown.
"This is a global issue. There are problems around the world."
When Radio Tees asked the PM: "What are you doing to fix this mess?", she again referenced the £6000 figure.
"The decisive action we have taken means that no family will be facing a typical fuel bill of more than £2500, not just for this year, but also next year," Truss said.
Truss was then confronted with a question from a listener Diane, who had to sell the house she lived in for 25 years after no longer being able to live there.
Asked what help the government could offer her, Truss pointed to the energy support package, adding: “First of all, everybody has been offered help with their fuel bills and that was our priority because people were facing appalling fuel bills. That was the biggest part of the economic package that we put forward on Friday.”
In her final interview with Radio Stoke, Truss was asked simply: "Have you taken the keys to the country and crashed the economy?"
She said: "What we've done is we've taken decisive action on energy. So from this weekend, we've made sure that families are paying no more than £2500 typical bill on energy this winter and next winter."
Truss's comments sparked criticism from politicians and commentators.
Will Moy, Chief Executive of Full Fact, said: “We wrote to the Prime Minister about getting this wrong only yesterday. The government’s energy plans will affect every household in Britain this winter. And yet Liz Truss has repeatedly misled listeners this morning.
“She must now publicly correct her mistake to make sure people are not misled about their energy prices and hit with unexpected and unaffordable energy bills this winter.”
Liz Saville Roberts, Plaid Cymru group leader in the House of Commons, said: "Liz Truss is out of her depth and out of control.
"When our Prime Minister can’t get basic facts about energy price caps right, we’re in serious trouble. Incomprehensible that she won’t recognise the mess she’s caused and recall Parliament."
Financial Times energy editor David Sheppard wrote: "That’s quite the basic error, and frankly dangerous to let people think that."
When contacted for comment, a Number 10 spokesperson directed The National to comments made by the PM on Sky where she said: "We've taken decisive action, first of all, to make sure that nobody is paying more than a typical fuel bill of £2500."
They did not address the criticism over Truss's mixed messaging and the impact it could have.
